News & Events

The Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS) honored Pro Bono Counsel and Director Harlene Katzman at the “New York, Together” awards ceremony on June 17th. Harlene was among the honorees recognized for exhibiting pro bono leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. As part of the program, Harlene was also featured on a panel discussing the Firm’s pro bono work with DACA recipients.

In addition, Simpson Thacher attorneys Bryce Friedman, Jonathan Myers, Peter Farag, Eleanor Shingleton and Eric Yang were named “Pro Bono Stars” at the awards ceremony. The team was recognized for handling multiple unemployment hearings for New Yorkers suffering devastating job losses due to the COVID pandemic, including three New York City public school substitute teachers who were told they were eligible, applied for, and received unemployment insurance benefits through the summer months. In the fall the New York State Department of Labor stated that the teachers should not have received those summer month benefits and asked the teachers to pay the benefits back, which most could not afford to do. The Firm won all three of those cases on behalf of these teacher-clients.

VOLS was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1984, when New York City Bar leaders responded to federal government budget cuts to legal services. Today, VOLS harnesses the power of New York City’s legal community and neighborhood-based groups to provide free, civil legal services when and where they are needed most.

For more information on the awards, please click here.